Rob Pizem broke a vertebrae in his back while attempting to free an old Royal Robbins aid route on Yosemite's Half Dome called Arcturus with Mike Anderson, in 2006. This is the third part — and conclusion — of Pizem, Anderson, and photographer Andrew Burr's epic first free ascent. 

June 2007 – The Return to Arcturus 

When I left the climb in 2006, I was sure that I could complete the route in just a few short days. Upon returning in 2007, I was surprised with the amount of work that the route needed to indeed be safe to climb, yet committing at the same time. After 12 or 13 days of work, living at the base of the timeless giant Half Dome, I rested in a dank Fresno Days Inn and tried to find the strength and courage to complete the looming task that we set out to accomplish last year. 

We watched movies that I did not care for, ate at goofy themed restaurants that occupied time and provided false birthday’s and watched reruns of the Discovery Channel’s Myth Busters and fishing shows. Time passed slowly, it was extremely hot and the skin on our fingertips slowly returned after we destroyed them over many practice attempts on Arcturus' various granite cruxes. 

Big walling Ain’t Easy 

Arriving still jetlagged from my former home in Salzburg, Austria to Yosemite’s grand emerald green valley, our first task was to establish a high camp at the base of the route. The task was as equally as daunting as the idea to free an old aide line on the wall. Establishing a high camp meant that we would need the basics: tent, bear boxes, cooking supplies, water bottles and sleeping bags and pads. What makes the job a challenge and a mind game is that we had to carry the equipment up the mountain much like an attempt on Denali. In addition to the survival stuff, we needed the climbing gear. This amounted to nearly 4 sets of cam’s, nearly a hundred free lockers, 30-40 slings, bolt kits and hammers, quickdraws, nut tools, wire brushes, nearly 2400 feet of static rope, lead rope, chalk and oh yeah, food for the days of work and eventual redpoint attempt. This year we were smart and found assistance from some naïve, but energetic Camp 4 climbers. 

It’s not even all the gear that makes it a such a task, it’s the fact that you must hike it up one of two energy sapping trails: either a tourist filled eight mile track for approximately 3 hours or option 2; the death slabs, which is a technical and demanding 2-3 hour nearly vertical trail with fixed ropes and lichen covered slabs traversing under the base of the giant monolith, where mistakes or slips can be deadly. Whether you are coming or going as a hiker, one always must pay attention and be careful as rescues are dependent upon how clever you can be.